Richlite or other synthetic fretboard material

[stratamania]

Here are a couple of videos of Rocklite.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OcvrX8yzW4
[/youtube]


[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR0VSQQwIAs
[/youtube]

 

[spe111]

I have a Martin with some kind of wood alternative fretboard and it's not slick feeling at all.

 

[pirate]

Apparently it comes in a variety of colors as well, to mimic maple fretboards or anything else you would like. Easily cut, routed, etc
They are inexpensive as far as I can tell $20-30 each, cut or blank, etc

https://richlite.com/pages/applications#music

 

[amon]

The problems with the Ebony alternatives are 1) They're too slick feeling under the fingers, especially when you sweat on them; 2) they're tougher on tooling; and 3) the surface is easy to tear up when you clean them, especially with a green scratchy pad.

All 3 of your arguments are lies.

Numerous reviews on YouTube support the first, most notable Phil McKnight.  I hadn't even considered the second until Matt at Texas Toast said it was the case.  I've personally seen a repair guy doing a cleaning on a Martin acoustic with a Richlite board and tear it up with a 3M pad.

 

[Kostas]

I don't want to sound like those vintage correct guys but since I'm in the safe position to have more guitars than I need, I can say I'll probably wouldn't buy a guitar with a synthetic fretboard. If I was young with one (or no) guitar and woods were scarce and expensive I would play guitars from every imaginable material. As far as legally sourced wood exists I will always choose real wood over a synthetic product for guitars. For other applications, like the exterior of a house, I would actually prefer richlite if it wears slower than wood.